Carry on Cleo . . . again!

POP star, TV star, mother and now a "diva in training" Cleo Higgins has tasted fame and is back for more. As a cheeky schoolgirl, with her sisters Zainam and Yonah, she formed the hugely successful Manchester-based group Cleopatra.

POP star, TV star, mother and now a "diva in training" Cleo Higgins has tasted fame and is back for more.

As a cheeky schoolgirl, with her sisters Zainam and Yonah, she formed the hugely successful Manchester-based group Cleopatra.

They took the pop world by storm in the late '90s.

Chart success, comparisons with the Jacksons, BRIT award nominations and TV shows Comin' Atcha and In The House with Cleopatra all followed.

The group arrived on the music scene in spectacular fashion. But then they just seemed to disappear.

Now, singer-songwriter Cleo, 21, is back to establish herself as a solo star. A reunion with her sisters "currently doing their own thing" has not been ruled out.

Fame arrived when she was a 15-year-old schoolgirl. Growing up had to be done quickly - and it was. At 19, she became a mother and says her two-year-old daughter, Chika, is already showing star potential.

Cleo's new material is a mixture of sounds, including R 'n' B and a bit of rock. She has already tasted success away from the group. A duet with opera singer Russell Watson topped the US classical charts.

Cleo says: "There were a lot of lessons I learned as a child. I had to grow up fast, the music industry is not for the faint-hearted.

"You need people behind you who back you 100 per cent and care about your future.

"I've learned not to trust anyone. When you're a child it's easy for someone to persuade you do things."

There appears to be a little hint of bitterness, although she admits she enjoyed the group's time in the spotlight. But she would like to put the record straight on one thing.

"We were always described as a Moss Side group - we're not actually from Moss Side.

"We were born in Birmingham. We lived in Whalley Range and Moss Side, but we're happy for people to say that because it made them look and realise there was talent in that area. And there is a lot of talent there.

"One of the main things I've learned is that I have got to be more in control. It's not a diva thing, but I suppose you could say I'm a diva in training."